Apollo 6, launched on April 4, 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. While the vehicle experienced a number of significant malfunctions, the flight nonetheless provided NASA with enough confidence in the Saturn V to proceed to manned launches.
This was the final qualification flight of the Saturn V before its first manned flight (with Apollo 8). (While Apollo 7 was the first manned Apo...
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Apollo 6, launched on April 4, 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. While the vehicle experienced a number of significant malfunctions, the flight nonetheless provided NASA with enough confidence in the Saturn V to proceed to manned launches.
This was the final qualification flight of the Saturn V before its first manned flight (with Apollo 8). (While Apollo 7 was the first manned Apollo mission, it used the smaller Saturn IB, not the Saturn V.) It was also the first mission to use High Bay 3 in the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB), Mobile Launcher 2, and Firing Room 2. Another objective was testing the Command Module re-entry system under extreme conditions, simulating a worst-case return from the Moon. This objective was not met due to J-2 engine failures.
The S-IC first stage arrived by barge on March 13, 1967 and was erected in the VAB four days later, with the S-IVB third stage and Instrument Unit computer arriving...
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